Incredible journey: North Gaston's Blue has survived obstacles to make UNC's "Senior Day"

By Richard Walker

Published: Wednesday, November 27, 2013 at 11:22 AM.

Whether it’s through phone calls or text messages, Norwood says he’s convinced Blue’s determination is why he has been able to succeed when others may have doubted him.

“I would say this: Proving people wrong is something he’s really good at,” Norwood said. “It’s a big Carolina fan base around here. Personally, I’m a big Duke fan and I get so much crap from Carolina fans because, on Saturdays, I’m pulling for the Tar Heels and him in football. But that shows you how proud I am of that guy and I’d like to think I had something to do with him making us proud.”

Blue hopes he can do the same at the next level, even as he has established being a good father for his 6-year-old son Amareon as his No. 1 priority.

And though Blue has battled injuries, his skill set likely intrigues pro scouts since he can run, throw and catch on offense and has shown the ability to play special teams at UNC as well.

“I’m going to definitely give it all I have,” Blue said of a potential professional career. “But I know that’s not my only goal. You know, some guys get caught up in this being the only part of their life. As a father, I want to raise my son to be the best man he can become.

CHAPEL HILL – As a seventh-grader at W.C. Friday Middle School, A.J. Blue showed his coaches he had football talent.

He also showed his coaches he needed direction as it was his behavior that led them to kick him off the Cavaliers’ team in hopes he’d mature.

“It was just something every day,” recalls Beau Norwood, then a Friday assistant coach to Mark Steele. “We ended up letting him go. He had some talent but couldn’t put everything together to get on the field.

“I remember talking to his mother (Theresa Adams) and saying, ‘We can’t do this anymore, but he’s welcome to come back next year if he changes.’ I remember her saying, ‘I hope this is what he needs.’”

With history as the barometer, has it ever been what Blue needed.

Blue not only returned to play for the Cavaliers, he went on to star at North Gaston High School and, after a year at Hargrave Military Academy, has shined as a multi-purpose running back at the University of North Carolina.

On Saturday, Blue will be honored by the Tar Heels during “Senior Day” before they play Duke in a game with huge postseason ramifications for both teams.

Blue’s survival skills learned in middle school have served the muscular 6-foot-1, 225-pounder well over his football career. Unquestionably the greatest player in North Gaston history, a case can be made that Blue is one of the best ACC players from Gaston County as well.

Along the way, he’s survived the death of his older brother (and role model), obstacles to even get to play college football and a severe knee injury in 2009 that threatened his career.

So will Blue be emotional on Saturday before he plays his final game at Kenan Stadium?

“Not really,” said Blue, who’s missed the last two Tar Heels’ games with a back injury. “I’ll be just like I am right now. My intention is the same every game: I want to go out and help the team win.”

That resolve has been tested over and over during his career.

But as Blue did after being told he wasn’t wanted at W.C. Friday all those years ago, he’s found ways to survive – and thrive.

“I remember talking to coach Beau in the seventh grade when he kicked me off the team,” Blue said of that fateful meeting in the fall of 2002. “That’s when I realized how much I loved football. Ever since then, I’ll do whatever it is to help the team win.”

It’s a trait that’s very obvious to his teammates.

“He’s just an athlete who works hard at whatever he does,” said Chase Gamble, a classmate of Blue’s at North Gaston who was an All-South Atlantic Conference lineman at Newberry College. “I think he’ll always be able to succeed. Hard workers always find a way to succeed.”

While many may think surviving three torn knee ligaments – or “one of the worst knee injuries doctors have ever seen at UNC” according to Blue – to play football again was Blue’s biggest challenge, he points to others.

“So when I got hurt, I didn’t have any doubt. There were other guys hurt with me and we all pushed each other to get better. So I didn’t have any doubt. All it really did for me was humble me and give me a better understanding that football won’t last forever.”

In the case of his older brother, life didn’t last forever.

And the murder of Blue’s older brother Demarreo Beard is something Blue will never forget.

Six days after one of Blue’s career highlights – quarterbacking North Gaston’s first-ever state playoff victory (55-30 at West Iredell) – the older brother who first got Blue into football was murdered while he sat on the porch of his Dallas apartment.

The reason?

According to police, Beard had been accused of stealing rims off a car. It was a charge that was never proven – but Beard was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot several times.

Seven years older than Blue, Beard was Blue’s hero and before the family moved to Dallas, Beard was a standout football player for Clover, S.C., High. (Beard’s Blue Eagles’ career coincided with that of future UNC running back Ronnie McGill, a fact that helped the Tar Heels land Blue years later.)

And the murder came one day before North Gaston was to continue its 2006 playoff run at rival Hunter Huss in what would prove to be the most emotional game Blue would ever play.

“Pregame, I didn’t even warm up with the team,” Blue told Lauren Brownlow of Fox Sports Carolinas last summer. “I couldn’t. I was just sitting there.”

Despite his heavy heart, Blue guided the Wildcats to a 26-21 victory.

Afterwards, Blue and North Gaston coach Bruce Clark talked to the Gazette about the gravity of the situation as well as the expectations that were placed on Blue.

“It felt like there was a lot of weight on me,” Blue said. “I don’t know if I had something to prove to my brother, to my mom, my little brother or just the team, but it was heavy because I knew I had to do something and come out and make my brother happy.”

Said Bruce Clark: “For No. 9 (Blue) to be out here playing was an unbelievable feat just to be here, much less to play the type of football game he played tonight.”

While North Gaston would lose the following week, that playoff run set up the Wildcats’ march to the 2007 N.C. 3A championship game the following year.

Now, seven years later, Blue remains the only quarterback to direct North Gaston to postseason success (six wins) in addition to being the county’s all-time leader in scoring responsibility (824 points) and total offense (9,700 yards), the school leader in passing yardage (5,077) and second at North Gaston in rushing yardage (4,623).

“He’s all about ability meeting opportunity,” said Norwood, still an assistant coach at North Gaston. “And he’s always had the ability but he also has worked hard. At that level, regardless of your talent, you have to have the work ethic and ability and you have to have the opportunity meet that and take advantage of it. He’s always done that.”

In Blue’s case, that’s happened through position changes – in high school and college.

At North Gaston, after a year starting on defense at linebacker, Blue went 28-13 while starting all 41 games of the final three years of his career at quarterback.

“A.J. gets a lot of bad publicity based on how rough it was for him where he grew up, but he was always receptive to coaching,” said Justin Clark, now a Atlanta (Northview) high school coach, who worked with Blue while he was playing at Western Carolina and later as a Wildcats’ assistant to his father Bruce Clark. “And he’s done some things – some things he’s not proud of – but he’s matured and grown into a man.”

After a year at Hargrave Military Academy to improve his academics, Blue was recruited to North Carolina as a two-dimensional quarterback by former Tar Heels coach Butch Davis.

But the serious knee injury (which came during a game in 2009), the NCAA investigation that led to Davis’ dismissal in 2011 followed and Blue transformed himself from quarterback into a more physical player who played in a one back spread offense.

North Carolina’s leading rusher much of the season, missing the last two games has allowed highly-recruited true freshman T.J. Logan to become the Tar Heels’ leading ground-gainer. But Blue remains third with 292 yards and he has 896 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career.

“I think I took advantage of every opportunity that I was given,” said Blue, who had career-highs of 433 yards rushing and nine TDs last season. “And I don’t have any regrets about any decisions that I’ve made or the work I’ve put into this.”

Norwood has been rooting on Blue all along.

Whether it’s through phone calls or text messages, Norwood says he’s convinced Blue’s determination is why he has been able to succeed when others may have doubted him.

“I would say this: Proving people wrong is something he’s really good at,” Norwood said. “It’s a big Carolina fan base around here. Personally, I’m a big Duke fan and I get so much crap from Carolina fans because, on Saturdays, I’m pulling for the Tar Heels and him in football. But that shows you how proud I am of that guy and I’d like to think I had something to do with him making us proud.”

Blue hopes he can do the same at the next level, even as he has established being a good father for his 6-year-old son Amareon as his No. 1 priority.

And though Blue has battled injuries, his skill set likely intrigues pro scouts since he can run, throw and catch on offense and has shown the ability to play special teams at UNC as well.

“I’m going to definitely give it all I have,” Blue said of a potential professional career. “But I know that’s not my only goal. You know, some guys get caught up in this being the only part of their life. As a father, I want to raise my son to be the best man he can become.

“That, to me, would be success.”

You can reach Richard Walker at 704-869-1841 or by twitter.com/JRWalk22